BILLINGS, Mont. - A layup from Kayleen Shultz (formerly Goggins) put the Alumni ahead early, but the current MSUB women's basketball team rolled off 50 points in the first two quarters for a final 81-49 win in the event at Alterowitz Saturday.
 
Schultz finished with a team-high 14 points on 50.0 percent shooting from the field (5-10), but four current Yellowjackets scored 10 or more in the contest during the annual event that pits current and former players against each other.
 
"It was great to play our Alumni this afternoon," MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin said. "Our team really needed to play against someone else and overall I was pleased with how we played."
 
Alisha Breen led the way with 22 points. The junior was 7-16 from the field and 6-6 from the free-throw line. Fellow junior Tiana Hanson chimed in with 21 points. The transfer from Sheridan College was 6-8 from the field and a perfect 9-9 from the charity stripe.
 
Senior Janiel Olson finished with a game-high 10 rebounds. She also had six points, two assists, and four steals as the Billings West High School graduate played on her home court for the first time since the 2013-14 season.
 
Rounding out the players finishing in double-digits was Marissa Van Atta contributing 10 points and three rebounds and sophomore Rylee Kane with 10 points and a team-high three assists.
 
"Offensively, I thought we shared the ball well and made the extra pass," Woodin said. "It was nice to see some perimeter shots go in early too."
 
MSU Billings shot 6-29 from the 3-point arc, but made four of those in the first two quarters. Breen, Van Atta, and Kane all finished with two each.
 
For the Alumni, Chelsea Banis also shot 50.0 percent, finishing with eight points and a team-high eight rebounds. Alira Carpenter and Kayla (McPherson) Rivas both had seven points and five rebounds. All 10 players from the Alumni team finished with at least one rebound. Annie DePuydt and Shultz both had three assists.
 
"Defensively, our communication was good and I thought we did an adequate job on the defensive boards," Woodin said. The two teams were evenly match in rebounds with MSUB slightly above the Alumni 45-41. The MSUB team did have quick hands finishing with 14 steals. Olson and Kane tied for a game-high four each.
 
MSUB finished the game shooting 33.8 percent (25-74) with the Alumni at 31.3 percent (20-64).
 
Jen (Smith) Senef buried a 3-point shot early in the game to put the Alumni one back at 12-11, but a counter 3-pointer from Breen put MSUB ahead 15-11 and from there the current team rolled through the game. Hanson completed a layup off a missed jumper from Taylor Edwards for a 25-15 lead at the end of the first quarter.
 
In the second quarter, Breen made both free throws after a foul from Banis to stretch the lead to 20, 39-19. The Yellowjacket scored the final eight points before the break for a 50-24 lead.
 
After the halftime break, MSUB opened with a 9-2 run. DePuydt hit a jumper just under three minutes and a 3-pointer from Mandy Johnson were the final points in the third quarter for the Alumni.
 
The Alumni did outscore MSUB 18-10 in the final quarter, including ending the game scoring the last seven points with Rivas finishing with the final three.
 
NEXT UP: MSU Billings has a little over a week before playing an exhibition game against Rocky Mountain College on Nov. 3, in the Fortin Center.
 
"It was a fun atmosphere today," Woodin said. "All of those alumni players remain very special to me. It was great seeing them on the court again and it was very cool to see all of their families too."
 
MSUB Alumni: Jetton (Meadors) Ailes, Mandy (Jacobs) Johnson , Becky (Jacobs) Anderson, Chelsea Banis, Kayleen (Goggins) Schultz, Tanya (Peterson) Hauptman, Annie DePuydt, Kayla (McPherson) Rivas, Jenny Heringer, Jen (Smith) Senef Head Coach: Quinn Peoples Assistant Coach: Kalli (Stanhope) Allen